Podcast interview with ‘Mamoon’ director Ben Steer
In episode 85 of the Skwigly Animation Podcast we welcome Ben Steer, director of the multi-award-winning Blue Zoo short film Mamoon, released online this week!
Mamoon is the brainchild of Blue Zoo’s Senior Animation Director, Ben Steer, who’s response to the company’s shorts programme won the heart of Blue Zooers who voted his idea into production. Already in its sixth year, the shorts programme is an excellent opportunity for creative diversity and experimentation, without commercial expectations. With previous shorts tending to be more humourous, the brief this time was to create an emotional, human story, with the proviso that the characters be animated in Maya and then projected and filmed.
Developed as part of Blue Zoo’s long-running animated short films programme in which studio employees pitch their own concepts, the film (which makes use of pre-rendered CG character animation projected onto a minimalist polystyrene set accompanied by a gorgeous score from composer Matthew Wilcock) is an expertly-crafted visualisation of the emotional toll of the Syrian Civil War in which a mother and child find themselves in peril as the moon loses its light and their environment becomes increasingly treacherous to navigate.
Also discussed in this episode: Reviewing new animated offerings from Netflix, Brown Bag endorsement appreciation, more love for Chuck Steel: Night of the Trampires following its UK premiere at Fright Fest and a look at 2018 Anijam which this year has gone nationwide for Anim18.
Stream below or direct download: